


In The Dark

by BringTheStorm



Series: Let's get two of these poor teenagers captured by the Neverseen and slowly try to kill them as mutual pining happens [2]
Category: Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger
Genre: A future timeline where Sophie and Keefe are captured by the Neverseen and are about to be executed, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, Love Confessions, Misunderstandings, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, it's dark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:20:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29971107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BringTheStorm/pseuds/BringTheStorm
Summary: Keefe and Sophie have been captured by the Neverseen and are sentenced to death. With only a few short hours left to live, will Keefe find the courage to tell Sophie his feelings? And does it even matter? It’s not like they can do anything about it anyway.
Relationships: Sophie Foster & Keefe Sencen, Sophie Foster/Keefe Sencen
Series: Let's get two of these poor teenagers captured by the Neverseen and slowly try to kill them as mutual pining happens [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2199039
Kudos: 6





	1. In The Dark

**Author's Note:**

> I made this as a Secret Santa gift for a friend of mine that I know in real life.  
> I actually went through several gift ideas, but this was my favorite.

“Don’t worry,” Ruy said with a smirk. “You can enjoy some nice time together until we kill you. Thanks for turning yourselves in, even though it did  _ nothing _ . For you at least.”

“I hope the ability restrictiors don’t give you too much of a headache,” Trix added sarcastically.

Gethen leaned down to whisper in Keefe’s ear. 

“Maybe you’ll finally be able to tell her how you feel. Too bad it’s your last chance.”

The trio laughed as they stepped out of the cave, leaving their bound captives inside. The large stone door slammed shut, leaving Keefe and Sophie shivering in the small cavern.

“Alright,” Keefe said, coughing to clear his throat after hours of misuse. “We need to find a way out of here. Step one is getting out of these ropes. If I turn around could you untie mine, Foster?”

No response.

“Foster?”

A slight whimper from farther in.

Keefe awkwardly fumbled across the cave and to Sophie’s side. She was curled into a tight ball between two stalagmites.

Keefe reached out his bound hands and awkwardly laid them on her shoulder. She shuddered under the touch.

“Hey, Foster? It’s me.”

Sophie  _ almost  _ relaxed at the sound of his voice. 

“Keefe,” she breathed.

Keefe tried to ignore the way she said his name. Like it was a life raft and she was drowning. 

Even if she did feel that way about him, she deserved so much better.

Not the broken pieces of a boy who had betrayed her over and over again.

Why was he thinking about this? Foster needed help. Not him going over his list of reminders why he and Sophie could never be together.

“Are you okay?” He asked her.

“Not really,” Sophie admitted. “I keep getting flashbacks to the kidnapping.”

“I’m sorry,” Keefe apologized, then immediately regretted it. Was apologizing the right thing to do in this sort of situation?

Sophie shrugged, but her calmness seemed forced. Keefe knew from experience that sometimes letting someone pretend they were fine and then distracting them was the best way to help them.

“Here,” Sophie said, fumbling to untie his hands. “I’ll be fine. Let’s just get out of here.”

But she wasn’t fine. Neither of them were.

And they knew it.

***

“Hey,” Keefe said softly as he unbound her ankles. “I, um, need some advice.”

The darkness was closing in around her like a circling wolf. She could feel the remnants of the echo she had thought was gone digging its talons into her fears.

Because she wasn’t fine.

Why had she lied and said she was?

The walls seemed to whisper as they closed in around her.

Tighter and tighter until she couldn’t breathe.

_ “Don’t even think about screaming, Sophie. No one will hear you and you will not like how we’ll punish you.” _

_ “Tell me what your mind is hiding and maybe I’ll let you live.” _

_ “This is your last chance.” _

_ “Stop playing around. Get rid of the boy while I take the girl back to the keep.” _

“Foster?” Keefe’s voice sounded like it was coming from miles away. “Are you okay?”

_ “Knock her out again. And make the poison- I’m done with both of them.” _

Sophie banished the echo to the back of her mind. And rubbed her forehead where the ability restrictor was digging into her forehead.

“I’m fine,” she assured him, even though she wasn’t. “The ability restrictor is just giving me a headache.”

“I know the feeling,” Keefe said. Even though she couldn’t see him in the darkness, she guessed he was fiddling with the stupid headpiece.

“What advice do you need?” She asked, trying to sound better than she was.

Keefe sighed.

She fumbled her way to his shoulder and rested her hand on it.

_ “You know nothing.” _

_ “I wouldn’t scream if I were you.” _

_ “I don’t know how you escaped, but you can rest assured that it won’t happen again.” _

_ “Of course you’ll cooperate. You have no choice.” _

The echoes assaulted her brain again, but she ignored them. Keefe needed her help. She would focus on that, not her fear.

“There’s this girl that I like…” he said finally.

Of course there was. 

She was probably really pretty and talented and laughed at his jokes and lived with her actual parents and hadn’t been experimented on by a group of rebels. 

This girl had probably picked up her match list and grinned with joy when she saw the names.

Maybe she had met Keefe at her Winnowing Gala. You know, another normal thing Sophie would never get to be a part of.

Whoever this girl was, Sophie hated her already.

Wait-  _ what _ ?

Was she  _ jealous? _

Definitely not. 

Sophie just wanted Keefe to be happy. 

And this girl had better be  _ amazing  _ to be worthy of Keefe.

Sophie was determined to love her too. Even if she really  _ really _ wanted to throw her off a cliff.

Where was this coming from?

“Tell me more about this  _ girl _ ,” Sophie said, fighting to keep the loathing from her tone. 

She was happy for Keefe.

Yes.

Keefe shifted uncomfortably. 

Oh no! He could tell she didn’t like this girl. Arrg! What was her brain  _ doing _ to her?!?

“She sounds really great,” she said, forcing a smile into her tone.

Keefe fidgeted nervously.

“Well,” he said in a dreamily tone. “She’s amazing. She stands up for others and is confident and acts brave even when she’s terrified.”

She gritted her teeth at the wistfulness in his voice. Then forced her mouth into a smile. This girl sounded great so far. She should be thrilled that Keefe had found someone this amazing.

Not that it mattered now since the Neverseen were about to kill them.

“She’s there for me when I feel like the world is shattering in a million pieces  _ again _ ,” he continued.

On second thought, listening to the echoes sounded preferable to listen to Keefe rant about this girl.

“She doesn’t pity me for my parents being, you know, awful.”

Sophie hated to admit it, but this girl sounded perfect for Keefe.

Not that she was jealous or anything.

“Okay,” she interrupted, cutting off his rant. “You like this girl. Why do you need my advice?”

Keefe shifted uncomfortably.

Keefe took a deep breath, and then told her as fast as he possibly could. “Shedoesn’tknowIlikeher.”

Sophie blinked.

“Could you repeat that? Slowly?”

“She doesn’t know I like her,” he admitted.

If she could have seen him, Sophie would have stared at him in shock. 

“What do you mean, you  _ haven’t told her _ ?” She asked. “How long have you liked this girl?”

“I was hoping you wouldn’t ask,” Keefe said, sounding embarrassed. 

“Spill,” she ordered.

_ Stop feeling so giddy that he will never get to tell her, since the Neverseen are going to kill us. That’s a bad thing! _

Keefe whispered something.

“What?”

“THREE YEARS.” He slouched, wrapping his hands around himself. “Almost three years.”

Sophie couldn’t help it. 

She giggled.

“Seriously Keefe?” she said, snorting. “I think that might be a world record.”

Keefe slumped even further, bringing her laughter to a sudden stop. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, patting his shoulder.

In a friendly way.

Not because she liked him or anything.

Shut up!

“Three years is a long time,” she said, quietly. “That sounds… hard.”

“It is,” Keefe said. “Everybody knows except her. She’s kind of oblivious.”

Everyone except her…

And Sophie.

Why was this the first time she had heard about this?!?

“So…” Keefe said. “Any advice?”

“You realize that any advice I give you will be useless, since you’ll never have the chance to tell her anyway?”

Sophie couldn’t see it, but she imagined his trademark smirk. “Tell me anyway.”

She shrugged. “The best advice I can give you would be to just tell her.”

Fabric rustled as Keefe repositioned himself.

“I just don’t feel worthy of her. She’s so… perfect, and I’m a total mess. She deserves someone who will make her happy.”

That was actually… super sweet. Why didn’t people say sweet things like that to her?

She tried to remind herself of both Dex and Fitz’s confessions.

It didn’t help.

_ STOP FEELING JEALOUS!!!  _

“You aren’t a mess, Keefe. And you should just tell her. You could make someone happy. You’ll never know what she’ll say until you tell her.”

She fiddled with her ability restrictor.

“I guess you’ll never know now. I’m sorry.”

Keefe took a deep breath.

“Sophie, the girl..”

She glanced at the shadowy figure that was him. “Yeah?”

“Well…” he fidgeted. “She’s you.”

Wait…

WHAT?

***

Keefe wrapped his arms around himself, unable to look at her.

Part of him was celebrating. Finally he had told her! Ro wouldn’t be able to tease him about his crush anymore because he had told her! After three years of being crushed beneath the burden of his secret, it was finally out!

But…

What kind of coward waited  _ three years  _ to confess? And only right before they were going to be executed?

He still could take it back. He could pretend that he was just kidding.

But they only had a few hours left, and Keefe wanted her to know.

He wasn’t  _ that _ much of a coward.

Still, Keefe wished he could make the hours pass faster. Anything for the awkward silence to pass faster.

“Keefe, I…” Foster said, sounding like she was near tears.

_ Great.  _ Now he had made her cry. Keefe had known this was a bad idea.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized.

“No,” Sophie said. “Don’t apologize.”

“But…”

“That was literally the  _ sweetest thing _ anyone has EVER said to me.”

Was his brain malfunctioning? It felt like his current understanding of the universe was shattering into a thousand tiny pieces.

“I don’t know,” he teased, using the spare seconds to gather his thoughts. “Fitz’s dramatic confession was pretty sappy.”

“ _ I hope that some snobby old elves put your name on a piece of paper so I can date you _ ,” Sophie said, attempting (and failing) to mimic Fitz’s accent. “SOOO romantic.”

Keefe snickered.

“There’s your feisty streak, Foster.”

She scooted closer, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Is this what you meant about head and heart emotions?” Foster asked. She froze, and poked an accusatory finger into his side. “You  _ knew _ , didn’t you?”

Keefe’s brain was still malfunctioning. There was no way this was happening,

NO WAY.

“You knew I liked you, even when I didn’t.”

Keefe sighed. “I meant what I said. All of it. Especially the part about you deserving someone better.”

Foster sighed. “Stop doubting yourself like that.”

“But-”

“Listen. I have approximately six hours left alive. If this is how I choose to send them, then that’s  _ my _ choice.”

She picked up his arm and placed it around her shoulders.

“I still can’t believe you didn’t tell me,” she giggled. 

“Well, you were so oblivious,” he teased. “I mean, people kept dropping obnoxious hints right in front of you, and you still didn’t catch on.”

She elbowed him. “Hey, you’re the one who waited  _ three years _ to tell me.”

“Was it worth it?” He asked, taking a risk and kissing her on the top of the head.

“Definitely,” she said. “Also, you seriously chose the  _ top of my head _ as our first kiss? That's such an older brother move. Unless you meant that you loved me like an older brother, you better do better then that.”

“But that’s such a boyfriend move,” he joked. 

“You’ve just been promoted to boyfriend,” she teased. “Being stuck in a pitch black cavern together can be our first date.”

“Deal.”


	2. Out of the Shadows

Keefe and Sophie had been a couple for approximately six hours when the Neverseen came to kill them.

Gethen couldn’t help it when he saw the two of them holding hands. He grinned.

“You finally told her, didn’t you?” He asked the boy.

The moonlark groaned. “Seriously? Him too?”

Keefe shrugged. “It wasn’t exactly a well kept secret.”

“It’s a good thing I love you,” the moonlark sighed.

“C’mon,” Ruy said, grabbing Sophie’s arms and pinning them behind her back. Trix grabbed Keefe and they marched them both to the balcony where they were to be executed in front of the entire world.

“And here I thought I was the one who held Foster’s heart captive,” Keefe joked, trying and failing to hide the worry in his tone.

Gethen chuckled in spite of himself. The boy was good at trying to defuse tension, but he had no idea what was coming.

They finally reached the balcony where Lady Gisela was waiting.

“People of the elvin world,” she began. 

Gethen didn’t give her a chance to finish.

He pulled out a medler and shot her in the back. She collapsed to the jeweled floor, writhing.

“NOW, Linh!” He shouted to his teammate, wearing an appearance elixir designed to make her look like the Neverseen’s Psionipath.

Linh threw smoke bombs into the crowd and into the corridor behind them, causing complete chaos.

“Biana, get those chains off them,” he ordered the girl imitating Trix.

“On it.”

“Hold still,” Gethen instructed the two EXTREMLY confused prisoners. He typed in a code to their ability restrictors.

“Dex?” Keefe asked.

Gethen -who was actually Dex in disguise, obviously- nodded.

“We told you to stay at the camp,” Sophie said, incredulously.

Dex smirked. “And you expected me to listen?”

The ability restrictors snapped open right as Biana finished unlocking the chains.

“Come on!” Linh said, clearing a path through the mist of the smoke bomb. “Fitz and Marella are this way! We have to find them before Gethen, Ruy and Trix get out of that closet.”

“You are allowed to disobey me whenever you like,” Sophie said.

“Too bad nothing good came of the mission,” Keefe sighed. “I was so sure-”

“One good thing came of it,” Dex smirked. “You two are a couple now, right?”

Sophie glared at Keefe. The boy just flashed his famous smirk. “Like I said, the girl I like is  _ really  _ oblivious.”

Sophie groaned. “You’re insufferable.”

“That’s why you love me,” her boyfriend teased.

“I’m not quite sure how to respond to that.”

Biana began chanting. “KISS! KISS! KISS!” Because that was what you did when your boyfriend was annoying you, according to her.

Linh joined in. 

And Dex, because he didn’t want to be left out.

So they did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twist ending to help you mentally recover because I felt like it.   
> I’m not really a fan of the depressing endings that lots of my KOTLC fics see, to have for no reason.
> 
> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!

**Author's Note:**

> What do you think of that ending?  
> Technically the fic should be done.
> 
> But... I have read fics like this before and know that endings like this can mess with your head, so if you REALLY want to mess with yourself, read the next chapter.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
